NOT DEAD!
There was a time I swore I’d never go longer than a week without a post, then it became 10 days, then two weeks, and suddenly without me noticing there’s been nothing new here for more than a month. That … Continued
To hood, or not to hood?
The book, and later film, of the James Bond adventure You Only Live Twice was essentially the West’s introdcution to ninja, and a few widely scattered episodes of American television series like Kung-Fu, Baretta and Quincy notwithstanding, the next major step … Continued
Re-re-re-(re?)-Enter the Menkos…
Super pressed for time lately, but I will leave you all with another nice selection of vintage Menko cards. These seem to be Fujimaru-themed, with plenty of the loose dot patterns, off register color and dodgy third-party artwork that make … Continued
In LION MARU news…
Medicom has released two new sofubi of Kaiketsu Lion Maru and Tiger Joe, designed by Bear Model. Not in love with these myself, as they are a bit too detailed and modern in their sculpts. Sofubi are supposed to look like … Continued
Lessons of the past may prevent the apocalypse!
Think back to the early 80s. Remember how all of a sudden every mail order company had magazine ads for TONS of ninja merch? How were all these vendors able to pounce so quick on a trend and stock so … Continued
NINJA II now widely available
Was it really four years ago that I wrote this gushing review of Scott Adkins and Isaac Florentine‘s throwback NINJA? Ninja was to the more widely known Ninja Assassin what Deep Impact was to Armageddon or Tombstone to Wyatt Earp — a cheaper, more exploitive … Continued
My review of TED AND HIS 46 RONIN, illustrated mostly by pictures from other films…
Listen up Universal execs! I know exactly what’s gone wrong with your version of 47 Ronin. It’s not a lousy script, minority backlash, a star past his drawing prime, source material un-relatable to the mainstream, or even competition from the … Continued
Things you can buy ME for Christmas – Part 2 (and beyond)
So yeah, man did the month of December sneak up on me in the dark with a piano wire… This was planned as three individual posts, but today is the first day I’ve been able to breathe in three weeks, … Continued
Things you can buy ME for Christmas – Part 1
Most sites give you all sorts of gift giving ideas this time of year, but I’m turning the tables and putting it all on YOU! Here’s something I’d really enjoy as a gift from one of you folks, original TV … Continued
CHALLENGE OF THE LADY NINJA promo brochure
Two of my favorite kung-fu-based ninja-sploitation flicks are the Taiwan via Hong Kong oddities Deadly Life of a Ninja and Challenge of the Lady Ninja, both featuring the delightful Elsa Yeung. While Deadly Life features a bizarre pro-wrestling element that will … Continued